Fornia



BELDEN & CRABTREE.

I Gun Lock.

Patented April 14, 1868.

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SALMON BELDEN AND JOHN FRANKLING'ORABTREEOF VISALIA, GALI- 'FORNI A.

: IMPROVEMENT IN GUN-LOGKS.

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TO ALL 'WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be 'it known that we, SALMON BELD EN and J 01m FRANKLING Cnnsrnnnof Visalia, county of Tulane, State of California, have invented an Improved Percussion-Lock for Small-Arms; and we do hereby declare the following description and accompanying drawings are sufficient to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which it most nearly -appertains to make-and -use our said invention or improvements without further invention or experiment. I v I The object of ourinvention is to provide an improved gun-lock, in which the following advantages are claimed over those hitherto constructed First, greater simplicity of construction, with a fvery few parts, while the trigger, acting directly upon tlie"hammer,wi1l operate it quicker; second, an arrangement by which the lock may be used as an ordinarytri'gger, or may be converted into a hair-trigger for a rifle; and third, a safety catch, of such construction that it is impossible for the"hammer to strike the cap .on the nipple without fi-rst fully cooking itand then pulling the trigger. To more fully explain our invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forminga' part-ofthis specification, of which-- Figure 1 is a back-view, with the back plate removed.

Figure 2 is a back view with the hammer raised.

Figure 3 is an outside view-of the lock.

Figure 4'is a sectional side elevation of the hammer,'showing the safety-catch.

Figures 5, 6, and 7 are detached views of the trigger. i v

Similar letters in each of the figures indicate like parts.

A is the lock-plate, having attachedto it the main-spring B and the spriug C, which takes the place of the sore-spring ordinarily used. The hammer is made with the head D and cylindrical body E, taking the place of the,tumbler in other locks. The main-springB is attached to and operates upon the hammer by means of a link, a, pivoted to the hammer, as shown. At the lower part of the cylinder is another link, 6, moving loosely, and connected with the lever F. This lever is pivoted to the lock-plate by and operates about the pin 0. When the hammer-head D is raised, the cylindrical part, E, revolves'upon its arbor, d, and, by means of the link 6, draws the end, e, of the lever l5 up. The other end moves down until it catches -in the notchg of the trigger G, and is held securely by the spring 0, which operates directly upon the trigger. When the trigger is pulled, the lever F is released, and the hammer allowed to fall, the,lever F moving back again, with the revolution of the cylinder E, to the position shown in fig. 1. i i

The trigger is pivoted tothe lock-plate by the pink, and has throughit a hole, 2', passing obliquely, as shown at fig. 5. A screw, m, passes through the side of the lock-plate, which, as it is moved in, presses against the side of the opening thus forcing the trigger back, and making its hold upon the lever F more or less delicate, as desired. 1 V

'The-safety-catch is constructed as follows: Within thehammer (shown at figs. land 4) is a small piece of steel, 11, with a point, n, whichis kept down by the pressure of the spring 10. The cavity in the lock-plate,

which receives the pnrt E of the hammer, has a' notch, 0, cut at the bottom, as shown in fig. 1, into which the point n falls when the hammer is raised sufliciently to clear the cap on the nipple. The notch o is of such shape that, when the hammer is raised far enough to be held by the trigger, the point n"is gradually drawn in, which presses the upper end out farenough to allow the lever 1' to catch the notch s, and thus prevent the point n from falling into the notch 0 when the trigger is pulled. The end, t, of the lever r projects sofar that, justas thehammer reaches full cook, it strikes the point at of the lock-plate, and is thus made to catch the notch s and hold the point n. In order to release this point, so'a's to again catch in the notch 0, for safety, a pin, 11, is placed in the lock-plate at such a point'that, after the point n has passed the notch o in the downward motion of the hammer, the end, t, of the lever r, strikes 1), and thus releases the piece n,so that the point'n may again catch in-lifting the hammer, so that, in passing through thickets, or other places where a gun is liable to be accidentally discharged, the hammer can never be brought down upon the cap unless it be first fullycocked and then the trigger pulled.

By using the device of the screiv m and the obliquehole 2' for altering the set, of the trigger, the gun is made to fire more or less easily, as desired, and the same locks may be put on either rifles or shot-guns without alteration. v

As the trigger acts directly upon the hammer without the intervention of the sel'e and.tumble'r, its action is much quicker and more certain, while the whole lock has less friction of parts, and is much less liable to get out of order than any now in use.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Claims. 1. The lever F, having a. short arm connected with the tumbler by slink, ands. long arm, to be held by the trigger, when at full cock, and released when'the trigger is drawrrfor discharge, substantially as described. 2. The safety-catch, consisting of the lever 'n, spring 10, and lever r, together with the notch o, shoulder 14 and the pin 1:, the whole combined and operating substantially as and for the purpose described.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals.

SALMON BELDEN. [L. s'.j JOHN FRANKLING 'CRABTREE. [L. 5.]

Witnesses:

EDWIN S. Snmnnn, Anrnun Semen. 

